Privacy Policy

Practical Effects (“we,” “our,” or “us”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the rights you have with respect to that information.

Information We Collect

When you visit https://practical.nyc, use one of our apps, or contact us, we may collect personal information that you voluntarily provide, including your name, email address, company name, and any other information submitted through contact forms, email, or other communications.

We also automatically collect certain usage information, such as your IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, and time spent on the site. This information is collected through cookies and similar technologies and helps us understand how visitors use our site.

How We Use Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Respond to inquiries and communicate with you

• Provide services and support

• Operate, maintain, and improve our website

• Send occasional updates, insights, or promotional communications where you have opted in

• Comply with legal obligations and protect our legal rights

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We may use cookies and similar technologies to improve site functionality and user experience. You may adjust your browser settings to refuse cookies, though some features of the site may not function properly as a result.

Sharing of Information

We do not sell or rent your personal information.

We may share information with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating our website or conducting business activities, such as hosting providers, analytics services, or email platforms. These providers are authorized to use your information only as necessary to provide services to us.

We may also disclose information if required by law or if we believe such disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, comply with legal processes, or respond to lawful requests from authorities.

Your Rights

Depending on your location and applicable law, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you

• Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information

• Opt out of marketing communications

• Request deletion of your personal information, where legally permitted

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at hello@practical.nyc.

Data Security

We take reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures to protect your personal information. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Shopify App Data Practices

Our Shopify apps (including Auto Discount Display and Easy Margin) access certain store data through the Shopify Admin API in order to provide their core functionality. This may include product, variant, order, and discount information.

Easy Margin

Order data (line items, prices, and costs) is read directly from Shopify at the moment it is displayed and is never stored in our systems. The only data we store is merchant-configured information you enter into the app, such as cost inputs and margin thresholds. We do not access, store, or process customer personal information (name, address, phone, or email). Data we do store is retained only as long as you use the app and is deleted when you uninstall it, consistent with Shopify's data protection requirements. All data is encrypted in transit and at rest.

Easy Custom Orders

This app helps merchants who make custom, made-to-order, and personalised products manage production. It shows them a queue of orders needing work, records what each customer asked for, and — where the merchant turns it on — sends customers updates about their order.

Our Role

For this app, Practical Effects acts as a data processor. The merchant is the data controller: it is their store, their customers, and their decision what to collect and what to send. We process customer personal data only on their instructions and only to provide the app.

We do not sell personal data, share it with advertisers, or use it to train models. We do not use it for our own marketing.

What We Process, and Why

From the merchant's store, via the Shopify Admin API:

• Customer name and email address: To show the merchant whose order is whose, and to send order updates the merchant has configured

• Order number, total, and line items: To build production queue and report custom order revenue

• Custom options the customer chose at checkout: This is the substance of a custom order; without it the merchant cannot make the item

• Product images: Thumbnails so merchants can recognize a job visually

We do not collect or store postal addresses, phone numbers, or payment details.

Directly from customers, on merchant plans that include it:

• Answers to custom order forms the merchant builds

• Files uploaded to accompany an order, such as artwork or reference photos

• A record of proof approvals, including the email the approval code was sent to, the time of approval, and the IP address and browser it came from

That approval record exists so a merchant can show a customer signed off on a design before production started. It is retained as a business record and is described below.

How Long We Keep It

• Production jobs and order details: While the merchant uses the app

• Anything the merchant deletes: Recoverable for 30 days, then permanently deleted

• Customer-uploaded files and proofs: 60 days after the order is fulfilled

• Files not linked to a completed order: Flagged and deleted after 90 days, with warning beforehand

• Everything, after the merchant uninstalls: Deleted within 48 hours

When a merchant uninstalls, we email them an export of their production history first, then delete their data. Files a merchant chose to store in their own Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, or Box account are theirs; they sit outside our systems, our retention schedule, and our backups, and we do not delete them.

Customer Rights

If you are a customer of a store using Easy Custom Orders, the merchant is your first point of contact: it's their store and their relationship with you.

When a merchant asks Shopify to delete a customer's data, we act on it automatically: identifying details are erased from our systems. Where a business record must survive (such as the fact that a proof was approved on a given date) the record is kept but the identifying details are removed, so it can no longer be traced to a person.

Requests for a copy of stored data are handled the same way: through the merchant.

Emails We Send On A Merchant's Behalf

Where a merchant enables it, we send order-related email: acknowledgements, production status updates, notice that an order is ready, and requests to approve a proof.

These are transactional messages about an order you placed, not marketing. Status updates carry an unsubscribe link. Messages needing action from you do not, because they are part of completing your order.

We honor unsubscribe requests and spam complaints across every store using the app.

Where Data Is Held

Railway: Application hosting and database

Cloudflare R2: Customer-uploaded files and proofs

Amazon SES: Sending order emails

Data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and backups are encrypted. Access is limited to Practical Effects staff who need it to run and support the app.

Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those external sites, and we encourage you to review their privacy policies separately.

Updates to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. The most current version will always be posted on this page, and your continued use of the site constitutes acceptance of any updates.